Five hundred years ago, Earth changed.
It wasn't war, plague, or climate that reshaped the planet—but mana.
No one knew where it came from. Some called it the will of the planet, others a cosmic curse. But when the first Gate cracked open in the skies above Tokyo, it didn't matter what people believed. It was real. And it brought monsters.
The early Gates were chaotic tears in space—portals leaking creatures and phenomena no science could explain. Cities were overrun. Governments collapsed. But then, something stranger happened.
People began awakening.
One by one, humans started displaying powers—controlling fire, bending water, summoning lightning. These were the first Affinities. At first, it was random. Sporadic. But soon, patterns emerged, and the Awakening System became humanity's last hope.
Gates were eventually classified based on danger—Category 1 to 5. Category 5 was enough to devastate entire nations. The world responded with unity, technology, and training. Mana terraformed the Earth itself—rising oceans, shifting continents, forests of crystal, deserts of flame.
In the end, only five nations survived.
India emerged as the dominant power in Asia, unifying vast territories under one banner. The United States secured the Americas. Africa, once divided, grew strong through resilience. Australia adapted quickly, carving power from chaos. And Antarctica—transformed by overflowing mana—became habitable.
For a time.
Because Antarctica didn't just change—it *broke*.
A Gate unlike any other opened there.
It wasn't Category 5.
It was beyond classification.
A **Category 6 Gate**.
Six Level 9s were dispatched—the strongest Awakened on the planet. Legends. Heroes. Demigods who could crush cities with a glance.
None returned.
What emerged was a being unlike anything the world had seen.
Not Level 9.
Level **10**.
Or as people came to call it—**a Sovereign**.
Fortunately—or perhaps intentionally—the world itself didn't allow it to leave. Antarctica became its prison. The Sovereign's power was confined to that continent. But the price was steep: a fifth of Earth became no man's land. Uninhabitable. Unapproachable.
And only **six Level 9s** remain.
Despite their power and lifespan of over a thousand years, their numbers never recovered.
Even the peak has limits.
Level 9s are still revered. Untouchable. Their presence alone is enough to sway nations. India and the U.S.—the twin superpowers—each possess two of them. Africa and Australia each hold one. The balance is fragile, but it holds.
For now.
And while Level 9s are capable of handling even Category 5 Gates, the memory of Antarctica haunts them. Because if another Category 6 ever opens…
Humanity might not survive.
Meanwhile, the world beneath these titans struggles forward.
Natural awakenings are declining. A 3-star Affinity is a symbol of elite potential. A 4-star? National treasure. Dual affinities? The stuff of legends.
And more and more children are born with no affinity at all.
Some whisper it's the calm before another storm. Others believe the world is punishing humanity for growing too strong. But Aiden Pandragon—standing at the beginning of his second life—knows better.
This world isn't punishing anyone.
It's warning them.
The Awakening System, the Gates, the Sovereigns… they're pieces of something larger. A puzzle too old to understand. A game too dangerous to ignore.
He looked to the sky, feeling the Chaos slumbering inside him.
Whatever was coming, he would be ready.
This time, he wasn't just another pawn.